Flip4Mac

[Andrew Saliga]

In typical client style, they throw words around not knowing what they mean. By high res, I think they mean they want something that looks good. (file size is not an issue) I think they are releasing it to the press. Why they want WMVs I’m not exactly sure. We already delivered QTs to the broadcasters and the spots were aired weeks ago.

So here is my workflow. I handle just about all the compression jobs around here and run most of them through Compressor and some through Sorenson. We just purchased Flip4MAc to allow WMV export from Compressor.

The file I’m working with is was shot on a RED, then the 4K footage was brought into FCP at 2K. The final edit was exported from FCP at ProRes422 HQ (720×486). It’s a 30 second spot and is 286.9MB when exported as ProRes422HQ.

I brought that file into Compressor and tried several settings. My final settings were:

-Export Using: WMV 9 Advanced
-2 pass CBR
-Quality 100
-20,000kbps
-Size and Rate: Current (I kept it at 720×486 and 29.97)

The audio settings aren’t as important, but here is what I used.

-2 pass CBR
-192kbps
-44.1 Stereo
-24 bit

Just for kicks I exported the same video with these exact settings, only changing the bitrate to 99,999kbps. I figured that’d be ridiculous of a number to get me a noticeable file size difference, but nothing. Both came out at 48.7MB.

[Daniel Low]

The file I’m working with is was shot on a RED

Lucky you! – Lovely stuff to work with.

The final edit was exported from FCP at ProRes422 HQ (720×486)

Just to be sure, is this 4:3, anamorphic 16:9 or letterboxed 16:9?

I brought that file into Compressor and tried several settings. My final settings were:

-Export Using: WMV 9 Advanced
-2 pass CBR
-Quality 100
-20,000kbps
-Size and Rate: Current (I kept it at 720×486 and 29.97)

20,000Kb per sec!!! Are you sure, 20 Megabits per second!? – Why or how did you decide to go that high?

I’m currently delivering a similar frame size for a client at 1Mb/s, so you simply don’t need to go to anything like that amount, you are wasting bits as there is a limit to how much information each pixel needs.

I’d suggest you don’t need anymore than 3Mb/s even for difficult content.

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Please post back saying what solved your problem. It could help others, and saying ‘thanks’ is free!

[Andrew Saliga]

“you are wasting bits as there is a limit to how much information each pixel needs”

Is that the peak bitrate? I thought I had read somewhere there is a peak bitrate one is able to reach on codecs.

I thought that was high. Aren’t DVDs generally 7-8Mbps?

The content isn’t too difficult. There are two shots with trees in the background. One is fairly wide and some leaves are moving. There is a transition that has sort of a motion tile effect with transparency to reveal the next shot. There is text of a website on the whole spot, and some animated text scattered throughout. There are also waving flags in the video, but other than that it’s people walking.

[Daniel Low]

Is that the peak bitrate? I thought I had read somewhere there is a peak bitrate one is able to reach on codecs

No, the peak bitrate setting is simply saying to the encoder that you do not want the bitrate to go past the set value.

Different codecs have different theoretical peak limits but it’s more that they can’t make use of the extra bits than you can’t input the value.

For example Prores422 can deal with many hundreds of MB/s but a 3GP codec can only deal with a 1Mb/s before there’s no point in giving it more.

Commercial DVDs can range from anything between 3 and 8.5Mb/s.

__________________________________________________________________
Please post back saying what solved your problem. It could help others, and saying ‘thanks’ is free!